Canada’s national office vacancy rate hit an all time high in Q1:

TORONTO — CBRE says Canada’s national office vacancy rate hit an all-time high in the first quarter of the year.

The real estate firm says the country’s overall office vacancy rate amounted to 17.7 per cent, while downtown office vacancies sat at 18.4 per cent and the suburban rate landed at 16.8 per cent.

Toronto’s downtown office vacancy rate reached 15.3 per cent, the highest level Canada’s largest office market has seen since 1995.

Vancouver’s downtown office vacancy rate rose to 10.4 per cent, the highest it’s been since 2004.

Ottawa and Montreal both recorded their all-time highest downtown office vacancy rates at 13.2 per cent and 16.5 per cent, respectively.

CBRE says tech companies rightsizing their businesses and rethinking their spaces are to blame for many of the vacancy rate increases.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 4, 2023.